What I’m Thinking about when i paint
I make paintings I want to look at. And, what makes me want to look at a painting is its ability to transport me, to engage me and trigger my imagination. When I paint, I’m trying to take you to a place of your own design, in your imagination, eliciting your own emotions.
My landscapes begin with a tonal design, but color seduces me. When I paint flowers I’m trying to simplify beauty. The beauty of color, of design of the natural movement in a bouquet of flowers thrown into a vase. Painting people allows a poetic approach, the distillation of emotions into a sentimental movement of color and fabric, of fundamental human relationships. And sometimes I’m just telling a story to myself, having fun with the paint, assuming you’ll create your own narrative out of the shapes and colors.
Truth in beauty. Beauty in the mundane. Mystery, drama, poetry.
MY STUDIO
I live in Southern California. So, I paint outside.
Sketch for “Izzy”
What I’m Working On
A friend recently asked me to paint his puppy on commission. I typically don’t do commissions, but I’ll make an exception for dogs; It’s the story of my life.
I generally paint abstracted subjects that are intended to evoke your own memories and imagination. It’s an approach that comes naturally and allows me to invent flowers, landscapes even human figures from enigmatic references. Capturing a unique personality on canvas is another animal. It is, as they say, an art. And, for me, demands a bit of experimentation, an examination of techniques that are more…technical.
On the left is the beginning of Izzy. She is all personality and a worthy subject with which to explore the art of revealing the humanity in the canine. Painting her was so much fun, I think I’ll keep doing it.
In addition to painting furry family members, I’m working on a series of rescue dogs to be auctioned off to raise money for a local Humane Society.